So in an attempt to get Scout's mind off her own issues I'd like to start sport tracking with her. I have done a lot of groundwork using scent pads and short tracks with Lily, but have done nada with Scout.

Do I have to use a fursaver? Does it really matter? I mean, I doubt she'll ever trial, but if we did...

Also she HATES any time a leash gets under her legs. I know a lot of people will tuck the line under an armpit to encourage the deep nose... but her nose is always deep when she smells something interesting, so I really don't see that being a problem. So can I just not do that or is there some esoteric reason I should attempt to desensitize her to a lead tucked under her leg? I probably just answered my own question there didn't I...

It should be really easy to shape her to platz at an article. She is really into the game of shaping.

It might take a while to get her to relax and focus on the track on the little field on campus I plan to use, but I am hoping this will be a great way to get her thinking and help her focus on something other than worrying about whats in her environment.

I generally see the lead going under the leg to either a) encourage a deep nose or to b) slow down the speed trackers. Kroyer is going to be in town in a couple weeks, so I fully intend on picking his brain.

I generally see the lead going under the leg to either a) encourage a deep nose or to b) slow down the speed trackers. Kroyer is going to be in town in a couple weeks, so I fully intend on picking his brain.

I assume you mean Dave Kroyer, and yes pick his brain. He's cool. Not hung up on who's right and who's wrong or which way is the best. He has his system for sure and he's very good at what he does.

I remember the last time I was training with him and somebody was having difficulty, i don't even remember what it was, it was in ring sport and wanted to try something. He was like" that's cool, half the time i'm just making **** up and seeing if it works"

I'm sure he isn't just willy nilly making stuff up, but it's nice training with someone that isn't more concerned about being "right" than they are about getting the most out of the dog and handler.

anyway as for the original question, you know i have no idea of you have to use a fursaver. all my dogs have one, so I never think about it I'm not sure if it matters, but I know it can't be a choke collar or pinch or anything, it would have to be a flat if anything or harness.

I'd get them used to putting the leash under the leg before tracking, just because it signals them as to what is coming. I don't ever have it tight in the beginning and by the time we are really tracking and they are 30 feet in front of me they don't think anything of the least under their front leg.

I generally see the lead going under the leg to either a) encourage a deep nose or to b) slow down the speed trackers. Kroyer is going to be in town in a couple weeks, so I fully intend on picking his brain.

assuming they are straddling the track, why would you slow down the fast dogs?

so it's mostly stressing the artificial environment like most trials do. still it's work & that is better than most.

yes and no. WHile in real life the end is what is really important, find what you're supposed to find, doesn't really matter how you get there and life is good.

In a trial, though it is a sport you can still evaluate the dogs. Usually crazy and frantic trackers are a bit crazy and frantic in other places too. usually tracking ground is at a premium and most clubs don't have hundreds of acres to choose from. so what you get is a shorter track with added stresses of obedience and we see how the dog responds. It is in now way real, but it can still be a pretty decent test.

But it is a sport and there has to be criteria to judge against. You can tell a lot in tracking, though I hate doing it. Just after the 4th we had a trial, hotter than crap and dry as hell. tracking conditions were less than desirable.

You could see which dogs were tough mentally and had decent training and which ones didn't. one dog was so stressed when it lost the track and didn't have a handler to show it where it was again it quit. Another one was force tracked in Germany before he was sent over here. Dog lost the track on a corner and kept his nose deep to the ground and kept right on going. Looked good too, but I layed the track and knew he was not tracking anything at this point, just lying to avoid the beating he probably had to endure in Germany for losing the track. So you can see how stress affects the dogs.

a couple others when they had difficulty worked it though and worked through it well. Not surprisingly they were my favorite dogs to work in the bitework as well.

Thats a good point release the hounds... I didn't think about it signaling whats coming! I'll have to slowly ease her intot hat because if she accidentally gets it under her front leg on a walk she'll about flip over trying to get it out. She's pretty easy to desensitize on things and once she gets it, she gets it. I think it took me like a week to acclimate her to the harness we use for tugging bitework with the decoy and now she gets excited whenever I pull it out. Weirdo dog.

I always just used Lily's flat collar... its been a while since I last tracked her. For some weird reason I've never gotten around to picking up a couple fursavers. I keep meaning to, lol.